Integrating electronic health record systems, secondary databases and protocols at the point of care for administrative, clinical, care management, financial and information systems purposes establishes an electronic delivery of care system that
- Supports patient self-management, evidenced-based clinical decision-making, efficient practice design, and the improvement of the health status of communities and populations.
- Enhances the safety, efficiency, effectiveness, and timeliness of care.
- Provides patient access to health information and support, as well as their health record.
- Assures that all patients receive high quality care.
- Ensures that clinical information infrastructure is integrated with the business information systems.
- Supports rapid response in emergency situations.
Information & Clinical Technology Grants
In FY 2003, HRSA awarded six Integrated Information and Communication Technology grants to reinvent and substantially enhance primary and preventive care in the health center delivery system through:
- Development of a robust information and communication technology infrastructure that supports the Health Disparities Collaborative Care Model and leads to a seamless delivery system.
- Establishment of networked information and communication technology systems that maximize economies of scale.
- Dissemination of and support for the spread of the information and communication technology infrastructure to all health centers within State or regional marketplaces.
These projects built on and expanded efforts of health centers and health center networks that manage a select number of chronic conditions through the Health Disparities Collaborative so that their approaches could be applied to all conditions and all health center patients across their delivery systems.
Capitalizing on innovations in chronic care management, electronic patient registries, and performance improvements, the program aligned information system goals and objectives to focus on patient and clinical care, specifically the implementation and dissemination of a clinical information system or “electronic health record” supportive of Health Disparities Collaborative care model objectives.
Projects supported the move to a clinical information system through an integrated system with common architecture providing the best clinical and administrative solution the clinical information system marketplace, eliminating both disparate clinical database sources and the fragmentation of clinical data and information.
Grant awards ranged from $450,000 to $750,000 per budget period, with project periods as long as 4 years.
As of 2006, the Integrated Information and Communication Technology grantees are working to install electronic health records in approximately 60 health centers with 300 sites. Statewide efforts are taking place in Maine, Oregon and West Virginia. Marketplace efforts are taking place in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina. |
